I'm the Asia Online Editor for Forbes. My work is divided between writing stories, homepage and social media updates and research for rich lists. I joined the Hong Kong bureau six years ago, after earning a master's in journalism at HKU. Prior to that, I worked with British diplomats at the consulate general here for almost a decade.
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Huawei Technologies expects to see a strong recovery in profitability as the company continues to push into new markets amid more cautious spending by telecom operators.

In a new year’s message recently sent to staff, Guo Ping, Huawei’s acting CEO, said the company’s earnings would likely jump 29% to about $2.4 billion, on revenue of $35 billion. Last year, China‘s largest telecom equipment supplier reported that its net profit fell 53%.

The turnaround in earnings comes as Huawei has been expanding from network equipment into mobile devices and the enterprise market, while facing intense scrutiny in the U.S. for alleged ties to the Chinese military, a charge the company has repeatedly denied.

After highlighting several of Huawei’s achievements over the past year, Guo acknowledged some of the challenges that lie ahead. “In 2013, we will further our efforts in legal and regulatory compliance across the world, become more open and transparent, and proactively contribute to the betterment of the global business environment,” he wrote.

Founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei, Huawei has rapidly grown to become the world’s second-largest provider of telecom equipment after Sweden‘s Ericsson. About 70% of the privately held company’s revenue now comes from markets outside China.

In recent years, Huawei began selling smartphones and tablet computers, bringing it into direct competition with the likes of Apple and Samsung. Last month, the Shenzhen-based company announced plans to open a smartphone-software development center in Helsinki and double the size of its research operations in Europe.

Huawei’s ambition to grow its business in the U.S. has been long been stymied by political opposition. A congressional report warned the company posed national-security risks and warned U.S. businesses against working with Huawei and its crosstown rival ZTE Corp.

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Alleged ties to the military? That’s terrible. Our US politicians, senators, dictators and congressmen would never have financial interest in any company that makes money from the US military or the war cash cow (i.e. Halliburton, KBR, Vangard, Lockheed Martin, Titan etc). No, not us.

Of course, you can criticise the likes of them here, justifiably, and this government won’t see to it that Forbes deletes your comments, or possibly show up at your house if you are particularly outspoken and have a following. Huawei falls under the jurisdiction of another kind of government, which they claim to be independent of. Your parallel is simplistic at best.